


Frat Guys and "Bad" Boys

by Myoneloveismusic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: College AU, M/M, Punk!keith, frat boy!Shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 14:44:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 13,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15687510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myoneloveismusic/pseuds/Myoneloveismusic
Summary: Shiro is ready for another exciting year at college, but what he doesn't expect is for a certain campus punk to catch his eye. He's a little in love, a lot of a dork, and Matt is completely done with his antics.~~~This is the frat boy!Shiro and punk!Keith au originally posted as part of my Write 365 challenge.





	1. Chapter 1

A high-pitched screech was the only warning Shiro got before something smacked into him from behind. Even with the added force of the person behind him and his last duffle bag of stuff from his car he only stumbled forward a step. 

“Shiro! What’s up man?” 

Shiro grinned and turned to give Lance a high-five. “Yo dude! How was summer?” 

Lance rolled his eyes. “Had to help out at the restaurant and missed out on prime beach time with the babes.” 

“Dude, your parents’ restaurant is literally right on the beach. You get customers coming in from the sand and surf all the time.” 

Lance sighed longingly. “I know, but it’s not the same you know? I have to keep my composure and make the place look good and respectable,” he said, making air quotes. 

“Don’t worry, the parties this year are going to make up for all the chances you missed out on,” Shiro said, turning back to their house. 

“I hope so. Our first back to school bash has to be the best. We can’t let the Delts get the best of us this time.” 

Shiro grinned. “Don’t worry. Sigma Nu will crush them. We’ve just gotta get the alcohol and the music and everyone will flock right in.” 

“They better, because I’ve got my eye on one of the Pis.” 

Shiro exchanged high fives and handshakes with his other frat brothers as he passed them and jogged up the stairs to the room he’d be sharing with Lance and Matt for the year. 

“Let me guess, it’s the same Pi you’ve been staring at since recruitment last year? Long flowy silver hair and dark skin?” Shiro asked, tossing his last bag onto his unmade bed. 

Lance sighed dreamily making Shiro raise an eyebrow. “I’m going to convince her to come to one our parties this year. I’m going to.” 

Shiro shook his head. That had been his anthem all last year. “Yeah, yeah, save it for recruitment when you’ll have all the time in the world to mingle with her. You need help with the stuff in your car or what?” 

“You really willing to help me with my crap?” 

Shiro snorted and adjusted the straps of his tank top. “Beats having to unpack my own stuff.” 

“Very true. Let’s go then.” 

Shiro followed him back down the stairs and out the front door. Lance’s beat up car was parked on the curb. The backseat was filled with bags and Shiro knew there was just as much crammed into the trunk. Shiro gave a low whistle. 

“Start wherever,” he said, pulling open the backseat door. 

Shiro loaded himself up with a couple of bags and was about to turn back towards the house when a head of black hair caught his eye. He paused and looked over the student who was wearing too much black for the hot, end of summer weather. His black jeans were ripped over the knees and his long hair was pulled up at the back of his head. He had black gloves on his fingers and combat boots wrapped around his feet. 

“Hey Lance,” he said. 

“Yeah?” he huffed, pulling a larger bag from the back. 

Shiro nodded at the student. “Do you know who that is?” 

Lance raised an eyebrow and followed his gaze. “Nope. Why? You know him? He doesn’t look like the frat type.” 

“Nah, I just…I dunno. Never mind,” he said, turning away and heading back for the house, stride quicker than it needed to be. 

He heard a gasp behind him and sped up more. 

“Takashi Shirogane, no way! No fucking way!” 

Shiro felt his cheeks heat up as Lance’s cackle followed him up the stairs to their room.


	2. Chapter 2

“Good afternoon, Keith!” Coran greeted warmly. 

“Hey,” he said, walking through the black curtains that divided the front of the store from the back. He dropped his backpack against the back wall and sighed as he walked back out. “What do you need me to do, today?” 

“Start with organizing what’s on the floor and then I have some new records that could use shelving.” 

“Sure thing.” He moved to the front of the store and started picking his way over the different sleeves. The glare of the sun filtered through the front windows and he was glad to be out of it after his sweaty walk through campus to the store. 

“You might want to wash off the makeup the next time you let your little sister practice on you.” 

Keith narrowed his eyes and glared up at the brunette standing in front of him with a smirk on her face. 

“You need help with something shortie?” he shot back. 

Her smirk widened. “If you think I want a fight, I’ll have you know I have all the advantage because of my height,” she said, eyes dropping down to his crotch before flipping back up to his face. 

The corner of Keith’s lips ticked up and her smirk fell away into something more genuine. 

“I guess it’ll do me good to have you in my corner then. I’m Keith.” 

“Pidge,” she offered. 

He snorted. “What kind of name is that?” 

“The kind you use when you don’t care too much for your real name.” 

“Fair enough. Something I can help you with, Pidge?” 

“Got an Indie section?” 

Keith raised and eyebrow and pointed towards the back corner. “Back there.” 

She followed his gaze and grinned. “Cool, thanks.” 

Pidge moved off to flip through the sleeves and went back to his work, reordering and shuffling the sleeves to keep them in order. Some customers had no sense of organization. 

“So,” Keith said when he’d worked his way towards the end of the aisle and was near Pidge again. “What brings you here?” 

“I’m starting my first year at GU. I heard about this place from my brother and wanted to come check it out. He’s never been in, but thought I might like it.” 

Keith nodded. “Yeah we get a few students in here. Ever since the hipster phase happened and everyone wanted to buy record players.” 

Pidge snorted. “Is that why you’re here?” 

“If you ever try to even suggest that again I will murder you.” 

Pidge laughed behind him and it made Keith smile. It wasn’t often he actually liked one of the customers who came in to the store. 

“Yes,” she hissed as she pulled a sleeve free and turned it over to look at the back. “Well it was nice talking to you, Keith,” she said as she skirted around him to head for the counter. 

“Yeah maybe I’ll see you on campus sometime,” he called after her.

She gave him a peace sign before turning to Coran and setting her new find on the counter. Keith let their voices fade into the background as he got back to work, settling into the feeling of the cardboard sleeves slide over his fingers.


	3. Chapter 3

Pidge burst through the door to Matt’s room, much to their shock, and made herself right at home on Matt’s bed. 

“Pidge, how’d you get in here?” Matt asked from where he was still stuffing his endless array of shirts into his dresser. 

She raised and eyebrow and tucked her hands behind her head. “Like it’s hard? It’s just your frat house it’s not that big a deal. Girls come in here all the time.” 

“Yeah, for keggers,” he pointed out. 

“And?” she asked. 

“And I don’t want you in here.” 

She rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh, the plastic bag holding her record crinkling next to her as it shifted. “Geez, calm down. It’s not like I‘m going to be hanging around you all the time.” 

Shiro and Lance snickered where they were still getting their sides of the room in order. 

Matt nodded towards the bag. “You already checked out Coran’s Records?” 

“Yup! Found something pretty sweet, too. And I’m not talking about the guy who works there, even if he was pretty cool, too.” 

“What guy?” Matt asked, narrowing his eyes. 

Pidge waved him off. “Some guy named Keith. Don’t worry about it.” 

Matt looked at his friends who shrugged. 

“Okay…you get settled into your dorm, yet?” 

“Please, I’ve been back longer than you have. Mom was having the time of her life when we first moved me in. I never thought she was going to leave.” 

Matt chuckled. “She was the same with me.” 

“I doubt it,” she huffed. “She was probably more willing to let you spread your wings.” 

“You got a roommate?” Shiro piped up. 

“Yeah. She seems okay, but I’m not holding out hope. The amount of pink in her wardrobe is kind of off-putting if I’m being honest. She seems like the sorority type.” 

“And you’re not?” Lance asked. “Not going to follow in your brother’s footsteps and join Greek life?” 

“Please, that’s the last thing I want to do. Besides,” she said, grin sharp, “why would I need to spend the money and time to join a sorority when I can get all the benefits of the parties for free?”

“Oh no, no way,” Matt said, throwing the shirt in his hands on top of the open drawer so he could face his sister fully. “There’s no way you’re getting anywhere near the frat parties on campus.” 

She grinned and pushed herself from the bed, backing towards the door. “That’s what you think, Matt,” she said before turning on her heel and slipping away. 

“Damn it, Katie!” he hollered, chasing after her. 

“Don’t call me Katie,” she snapped back. 

Lance and Shiro hurried over to the window to watch as Pidge sprinted down the sidewalk, Matt huffing several feet behind her. Pidge’s soccer background was definitely giving her a leg up on her brother after his first couple years of college. They both knew having her on campus was going to make things a lot more interesting and probably a lot more fun.


	4. Chapter 4

Keith slumped to the back of the room for his class. It was the first day back and he was already feeling stressed over everything that would be coming over the next few months. He claimed a spot for himself at the last table in the corner and leaned his head in the crook of his arm. 

He wasn’t the first one there, but he also wasn’t the last because fuck if he was going to be stuck in the front row and have the professor stare him down. (He’d just stare right back and not say anything, but he’d rather do it from the back of the room than the front.)

He lazily watched the door as other students walked in and rolled his eyes when a guy who was clearly in a frat walked in. He was ready to write him off as nothing worth his time, until he looked over his shoulder at someone behind him and smiled. 

Keith swallowed, eyes zeroing on the dimple on his cheek before traveling up to the white lock of hair that was pushed through the opening of the baseball cap he was wearing backwards. 

Keith felt his face heat up and turned his gaze towards the front of the room, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. His fingers played with the fish net sleeves around his arms and he picked at the different threads, trying to keep himself from looking back at the person he could really spend all day staring at. 

He heard furious whispers and chanced a glance to the side, seeing it was the guy who’d just walked in and his friend having an argument with each other and gesturing to something. 

Keith’s stomach sank when he realized the table next to his was empty and was really hoping they weren’t about to come sit next to him because he wasn’t sure he would be able to take in anything from the lecture if that guy was sitting so close to him. 

“Excuse me?” he looked up and saw a guy with brown hair smiling at him. “Is anyone sitting at this table?” 

Keith looked past him to where the white-haired guy was biting his lip. He swallowed and barely managed to keep from shifting in his seat. “No.” 

“Great!” the guy said brightly before plopping down into one of the empty seats and letting his backpack drop to the floor. His friend was much more reluctant to sit down and Keith forced himself to look forward. 

He wasn’t going to think about him. He was going to ignore him because nothing good was going to come out of getting involved with that and most of it had to do with him being a frat guy. 

Keith slouched further in his chair. He could already tell this semester was going to be super fun. His only consolation was his job at the record store. He vaguely thought about rewarding himself with a new record if he made it through the day. (And managed to pay attention in this class alone.)


	5. Chapter 5

Matt heard Lance’s laughter before they walked into their shared room. Shiro was looking incredibly embarrassed, his cheeks a bright red and his head ducked down. 

Matt raised an eyebrow. “What’s up with you two?” he asked. 

Shiro dropped his backpack and fell face down on his bed while Lance tried to catch his breath long enough to explain. 

“You know that guy Shiro saw walking down the sidewalk he thought was cute?” Lance said, between breaths, falling heavily onto his own bed. “Well he’s in our class.” Lance broke into another round of cackles and Matt smiled, turning to Shiro who’d thrown his arms over the back of his head. 

“Oh is he now?” Matt asked. 

“Yes!” Lance cheered. “And we claimed the table next to him. You should’ve seen Shiro, I don’t think his face ever returned to normal during the whole first day.” 

“Did you at least get a name?” Matt asked, leaning back in his desk chair. 

Lance smirked and turned to Shiro who was still trying to smother himself in his comforter. “Shiro?” he asked. 

“Keith,” he grumbled, voice muffled by the fabric. 

Matt frowned at the name. Pidge had said she’d met a guy named Keith the other day. He shook his head. There was no way it could be the same guy. 

“At least now you have an excuse to invite him out,” Matt said, turning back to the conversation. “You’re going to be seeing him enough it would be less weird than stopping him on the street.” 

Lance scoffed. “I don’t think that’s going to be happening anytime soon. Shiro was barely able to sit two seats away from him.” 

“Oh, fuck you!” Shiro said, bolting upright in bed, his face still bright red. 

Lance raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Matt who grinned. 

“Then how about we make a bet? Or a challenge if you will,” Matt offered, leaning forward and bracing his elbows against his knees. “The next time you see Keith, you ask him out.” 

“What?” Shiro asked stopping short. 

“And if you fail, you get to buy the kegs for the next party,” Lance said. 

“Fuck no, I’m not doing that,” Shiro said. 

“I’ll even make it easy for you and let you sit next to Keith next time we’re in class,” Lance offered. 

Shiro ran a hand through his hair, knocking his hat from his head. “There’s no way he’s going to say yes to something like that, he doesn’t even know me.” 

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Lance said. “He says no and you don’t have to supply our next party. Which, I might remind you, is coming up this weekend.” 

Shiro rolled his eyes. “We won’t have class with him again before that.” 

“So is that a yes?” Matt asked. 

“No, that’s not…” Shiro started. 

“You might want to make up your mind rather quickly,” Matt said, turning back to his computer. “Or you take the forfeit and have to buy stuff for us anyway.” 

Shiro groaned and pushed himself from the bed. “I need to hit the gym.” 

“You need a partner?” Lance asked as he collected his bag. 

“Nah, I’ll be good alone,” Shiro said, putting his cap back on his head. “Need some time to think.”


	6. Chapter 6

Shiro wiped at the sweat that beaded on his forehead after he re-racked his weights. He felt the burn in his muscles, but it was needed after the day he’d had. As much as he tried to focus on the music beating through his headphones and the sets he was doing, he couldn’t get the thought of Keith out of his head. 

He huffed and loaded the squat bar up with 45s before placing himself under the bar and walking it off the rack. He squatted deep, watching his form in the mirror, even as the weight threatened to put him on his ass. So maybe he was a little more ambitious than he should’ve been, but the last thing he needed was to have Lance talking his ear off and he wanted nothing more than to pass out as soon as he got back to the house. 

He wanted to ask Keith out and even though he doubted he’d say yes, he really, really wanted him to go out with him. Shiro hadn’t really dated anyone since he started college and once he joined his frat, it had been the last thing on his mind amidst the flurry of parties and keggers and schoolwork. 

Shiro sighed and re-racked the bar, giving himself a moment of rest before his next set. He met his own gaze in the mirror, gunmetal grey eyes filled with determination. 

He wanted to ask Keith out. Deep in his chest, he knew he would. He just wasn’t sure when and he knew he wasn’t going to do it for a bet. He liked Keith more than that even though he’d only heard him speak a few words. 

Shiro positioned himself underneath the squat bar again and walked if off the rack, starting a new set and ignoring the eyes boring into him from the other people in the gym. He knew what he wanted to do, he just needed to work up the courage to actually do it. 

After finishing his workout, Shiro got changed into clean clothes and ran some water over his hair to try and get rid of some of the grime. He slapped his cap back on his head and headed towards the exit, giving a high-five to one of his frat brothers as he passed. 

As soon as he was through the doors he tilted his head back, soaking up some of the sun and the warmth. Their campus was in the city, but it was large enough that there was plenty of green space between the buildings giving it the illusion of being away from the traffic and larger buildings. 

He rounded the corner of his frat house and jogged up the front set of stairs, entering the pin to unlock the door. He could hear the sounds of a heated ping pong tournament coming from the game room, but skirted around the open doors to the stairs. 

Lance and Matt were still in the room, both of them raised an eyebrow at his reappearance. Shiro dropped his gym bag on the floor, making a mental note to get his sweaty clothes out of it before they started to really smell and sat down on his bed. 

“Okay,” he said. Lance sat up and Matt turned his chair around to face him. “I’m going to ask Keith to come to a kegger, but I’m not doing it for a bet.” 

“Why not?” Lance asked. 

“Do I really need to answer that?” Shiro shot back. 

“You actually like this guy,” Mat said, crossing his arms. 

Shiro felt his face heat up and hoped he could blame it on just coming from the gym. 

“I don’t want him to find out about a bet,” he grumbled. 

“You don’t want him to find out about a bet because you don’t need a bet to ask him out,” Matt said. 

Shiro let out an annoyed breath and he could almost feel the energy vibrating from Lance. There was no way he was ever going to live this down. 

“So what do we do about the kegger supply?” Lance asked. “I still say Shiro has to pay.” 

“Hey!” Shiro protested. 

Matt hummed and turned back to his desk. “I don’t think he has to buy all of the supply, but he should definitely buy a substantial amount. Even though he’s asking Keith out, he’s still technically forfeiting the bet by not making it a bet.” 

“You can’t be serious,” Shiro groaned. 

Matt smirked. “Be glad the rest of the house doesn’t know about this, they wouldn’t let you get off so easy.”


	7. Chapter 7

Keith kept his head lowered as he worked through the crates on the floor of Coran’s Records, trying to keep his mind off his class from earlier. 

“What’s got you hiding back here today?” 

He glanced up. “Oh, hey Pidge,” he said, separating out two records into different piles. 

She sat down across from him and crossed her legs. “Seriously, what’s up with you? I mean, I know I haven’t known you that long, but you’re weirdly demure today.” 

He shrugged. “First day of classes and all that. Have to get back into the school routine.” 

She hummed and tapped her fingers against her leg. “Something interesting happen?” 

Keith paused for a moment, feeling his face heat up at the memory. He ducked his head and started sorting records faster. 

“Keith, is that a blush?” she asked, trying to catch his eye. “I didn’t realize your soul was warm enough that you could blush.” 

“Fuck off,” he muttered. 

She laughed and leaned back. “Well, it must not be too bad if you can still sass me. Something embarrassing happen in class?” 

He paused and tilted his head to the side, scrutinizing the sleeve in his hand even though he wasn’t reading the title. “Not embarrassing really…” he admitted. 

“So you didn’t walk into the wrong classroom?” 

“Oh I walked into the right classroom just fine,” he muttered. “Fucking frat boys,” he hissed under his breath. 

“Frat boys?” Pidge asked. “What did they do this time? I know a couple and they’re always off doing something.” 

“How do you know the frat guys here?” Keith asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“My brother and his friends are in one,” she said, waving off his curiosity. “So I know a bit more than most freshers. His frat’s probably having a kegger this weekend, too.” 

“You gonna go?” Keith asked. 

She shrugged. “He’d probably kick me out as soon as he spotted me, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try. Now, what about these frat guys in your class?” 

Keith felt his blush return in full force and bit his lip.

“Oh my god…” Pidge breathed. “You’re interested in one of them.” 

Keith sighed and buried his face in his hands. “There’s no reason I should be. I know his taste in music is probably shit and he has too many muscles for his own good, but his face and his smile are just so fucking pretty,” he hissed. “And then his friend dragged them over and sat at the table next to me and I don’t know how I’m supposed to focus on class when I’ve got this attractive stranger sitting two seats away from me.” 

“Ask him out,” Pidge said. 

“I can’t ask him out,” he scoffed. “There’s no way he would be interested in someone like me and besides, aren’t all frat guys straight anyway? Isn’t that some sort of rule?” 

Pidge hummed. “Not necessarily. My brother’s frat brothers aren’t. One of them’s gay and the other’s bi.” 

“And they’re out about it?” Keith asked. 

She nodded. “Yeah. Lance can’t go a minute without making some sort of joke about being bi and Shiro’s a little more discreet, but it’s not a secret. Oh my god there was this one time Lance bought Shiro a shirt that said…” 

Pidge continued but Keith had stopped listening, too caught up on the names Shiro and Lance. How in the hell had he met the one person that would bring all of this full circle? The record slipped from his fingers and landed back on the pile as he continued to stare at Pidge. 

“Uh, Keith?” she asked, stopping herself mid-sentence. “You okay?” 

“Fuck,” he breathed.


	8. Chapter 8

“Sup losers,” Pidge said as she barged through the door to her brother’s room. 

Lance yelped and fell backwards off the edge of his bed. Shiro flinched at the sound and Matt raised an eyebrow as he looked up from his computer. 

“Care to give a little more warning next time?” Lance groaned as he came back into view from behind his bed, rubbing the back of his head. 

Pidge shrugged and fell back onto Matt’s bed. “I like keeping you on your toes,” she said, leaning back on the comforter. 

“How did you get in here?” Matt asked, turning his chair around to face her. 

Pidge grinned. “I can’t let you know all of my secrets.” 

“You can when it comes to getting in my frat house,” he argued, crossing his arms. 

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m not here for you anyway, I’m here for Shiro.” 

“Me?” Shiro asked, looking at her. “What do you need with me?” 

“I need you to come to Coran’s Records with me.” 

He blinked at her. “And why would I do that? I don’t need anything from the record store.” 

“Um actually you do,” she said. “As much as he didn’t want to give me the information, there’s someone there who you should talk to.” 

“Seriously what are you talking about?” Shiro asked. 

“Come with me to the record store,” she repeated again. 

“Not unless you tell me why,” he argued back. 

“You don’t want to ruin all of my fun, now do you?” she asked. 

Shiro shook his head and turned his chair around to face his desk. “You’re ridiculous. I’m not agreeing to something when I have no idea what you’re getting me into.” 

She shrugged and pushed herself off the bed. “Fine, but don’t come crying to me if you lose your chance.” 

“Lose my chance?” he asked, but when he turned around Pidge was already out the door and headed back down the stairs. 

His curiosity quickly getting the better of him, Shiro pushed out of his chair and sprinted down the stairs after here, catching up when she hit the main sidewalk outside. 

“Pidge wait,” he said, stopping her. 

She smiled and crossed her arms. 

“What were you talking about when you said I might lose my chance?” 

“There’s a guy you like in one of your classes right?” she asked. 

“How did you-?” 

She rolled her eyes. “Just because we both do our own thing, doesn’t mean Matt completely ignores me. We do talk you know.” 

“Oh…” 

“Yeah,” she said. “So, you don’t want to lose your chance to ask the guy in your class out, right?” 

“I guess not…” 

“Then you might want to pay a visit to Coran’s Records. You might be surprised.” Pidge turned on her heal and headed down the sidewalk, raising a hand up and waving at Shiro without looking back. 

Shiro stared after her for a moment, feeling a strange mixture of fear, confusion, and uncertainty. If he was understanding what Pidge was saying, then he was about to be confronted with and opportunity he wasn’t sure he was quite ready for. _  
_


	9. Chapter 9

“Come on,” Pidge huffed, pulling at his arm even as he stared at the front of the record store and bit his lip. 

“I don’t know…” Shiro said. “What if he doesn’t want to talk to me?” 

Pidge groaned and stepped back. “I’m done arguing with you. If you want to come inside you can. If you’d rather stay out here and never know what he’s going to say then you can do that too. I’m not going to babysit you.” 

She turned and headed towards the door. Without thinking Shiro rushed after her. 

“Pidge wait,” he said, catching up to her quickly. 

She pulled open the door and Shiro followed her inside. He immediately caught sight of Keith towards the back of the store amidst the rows of records. He felt self-conscious about showing up and worried his “Cum in me, bro” shirt was too much. He had no idea what Keith’s sense of humor was like. 

Pidge walked forward, making a beeline for the records in the back corner and giving Keith a wide berth so he wouldn’t take notice of her right away. She looked over her shoulder at Shiro and raised an eyebrow when she’d noticed he hadn’t made any move forward. 

He took a breath and forced his feet to move forward. He walked along the opposite side of the shelves Keith was organizing, slowing his pace as he approached until he was opposite him. He debated feigning ignorance and pretending to look through the records instead, but discarded that idea since it would be too suspicious. 

“Hey,” Shiro said, fingers running over the sleeves of the records in front of him. 

Keith glanced up, obviously thinking he was just going to be another customer, but he froze at the sight of Shiro. 

He cleared his throat. “Can I help you?” 

Shiro scratched the back of his neck underneath where the brim of his baseball cap came to rest. “Look, this may seem kind of weird, but we’re in the same class and you seem pretty cool and I was thinking, maybe if you wanted to, my frat is having a party this weekend, and I wanted you to come.” 

Keith stared at him and Shiro had to keep himself from apologizing for overstepping his boundaries. 

“You’re asking the guy who listens to post-punk and writes about the philosophy of death to a kegger?” he asked. 

Shiro shrugged and leaned against the rack dividing them. “Yeah, I guess I am,” he said with a smile. 

Keith raised an eyebrow. “And you’re sure about that?” 

Shiro glanced to the side, wondering if this was some weird trick or something. “Yeah, I am. Is that a problem?” 

Keith straightened and looked down at the records in front of him. “Apparently not. What time’s the party?” 

Shiro blinked before a wide grin pulled at his lips. “It’s Saturday at 8.” 

Keith nodded. “If that’s all, I should really get back to work. And tell Pidge that I’m going to kill her, would you?” 

“No need,” she quipped from her spot in the corner. “I can hear you perfectly.” 

Shiro and Keith both rolled their eyes at each other.


	10. Chapter 10

Keith fiddled with his fishnet shirt and stared at himself in the reflection of the window. He’d chosen to wear a crop top over the fishnets, but now he was wondering if that was the right choice or if he was making a huge mistake. Shiro was something totally different and he probably wouldn’t get his style. Or much more about him. 

But it was better than trying to make himself into something he wasn’t. That would only end in disaster and if Shiro couldn’t handle him how he naturally was then they had no business being together. 

He sighed and pushed the door to the frat house open, raucous conversation and a thumping bass immediately clashing in his ears. He pushed his way through the crowd, drawing looks from the people around him. No doubt it was less because of who he was then it was because of what he was wearing. He was sure if these people had ever seen fishnets and eyeliner it had always been on a woman unless there was some weird hazing ritual he didn’t know about. 

Keith craned his neck to look over the tops of the heads of the people around him, searching for the backwards cap he’d seen Shiro wear on more than one occasion or a lock of white hair that was sticking above the crowd. The clusters of people condensed the closer he got towards the kitchen so he changed course and made his way into the common room where couples were dancing in one corner under multicolored strobe lights. 

Keith spotted a vacant area of the wall and immediately claimed it for himself. He wasn’t going to search the whole house for Shiro and it would be easier to stay in one spot. He sighed and pulled out his phone, tapping away to clear the few notifications he did have. He propped one foot on the wall behind him and resolved that if Shiro didn’t show in fifteen minutes he’d leave the kegger behind. 

As confident as he was in other aspects of his life and didn’t care much for what people thought of him, he was out of any sort of neutral territory and knew there would be no one to stop any ridicule that might start. 

Shiro moved through the crowd, searching the faces around him and returning polite nods or smiles. The party was already in full swing and he hadn’t seen Keith around even though he’d said he was going to come. He was starting to worry that he’d bailed when he started his third loop through the common room. 

He froze when he caught sight of a familiar form leaning up against the wall. Shiro’s mouth went dry and he swallowed at the way Keith’s stomach was framed by the fishnets. He took a breath and slipped back through the door, passing through the kitchen to grab a couple bottles of beer before making his way back to where Keith was. 

_Okay Shiro, just go and talk to him._

He squared his shoulders and took another breath before striding forward and crossing the floor. Keith glanced up as he approached and Shiro could see surprise flash through his eyes which made him falter a little. 

“Care for a drink?” he asked, holding out one of the bottles. 

Keith quirked an eyebrow before pocketing his phone and taking the bottle, cool condensation seeping into his skin. 

“Thanks,” he said, taking a sip. 

“I…didn’t see you come in,” Shiro said, rubbing his thumb over the label of his bottle. 

Keith’s lips widened into a smirk. “So you were watching for me?” 

Shiro felt himself flush. “Well, you see…I…” he trailed off and sighed, lips pulling into a soft smile. “Yeah, I was actually.” 

Keith stared at him. Shiro cleared his throat and they both looked away, taking drinks from their bottles. Keith hadn’t expected Shiro to be so honest with him. It went against everything he knew about frat guys. 

He glanced back at Shiro who was watching him out of the corner of his eye. 

“I’m not really,” he started, waving the hand holding the beer around in a circle, “used to all of this, I guess. I’m not one for parties, let alone keggers.” 

Shiro held out his hand. “Do you trust me?” 

Keith’s lips drew downwards and he lifted an eyebrow. “No.” 

Shiro rolled his eyes. “You’re supposed to say ‘yes.’“

“If I did that would be pretty stupid.” 

Shiro dropped his hand. “You’ve never seen Aladdin, have you?” 

“What, the Disney movie?” Keith asked. 

Shiro shrugged and nodded. 

“You watch Disney movies?” 

“You don’t?” he countered. 

Keith shook his head. “I wouldn’t have taken you for the type.” 

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” Shiro said with a grin. 

“You’re right. There is a lot I don’t know.” 

Shiro lifted his hand again. “Care to find out?” 

Keith’s smile turned into something more wry. This time he did take Shiro’s hand.


	11. Chapter 11

Somehow Keith and Shiro had ended up in a secluded corner. Keith’s head was buzzing from the drinks he’d been sipping at all night and the party was just starting to wind down, the music having been changed to something slower for the couples who were still on the dance floor or lounging together on the couches. 

Keith had been prepared to ditch after five minutes at the party and was surprised that he’d hung around so long. But there was something about Shiro that had drawn him in and kept him there. 

Alarm bells were ringing in the back of Keith’s mind, telling him that he shouldn’t let himself be taken in like this. There were so many bad things about frat boys and how they would do anything to charm a person and bring them in so they could get what they wanted. And when that was done, the poor soul would be cast aside and left in the past. 

But there was another voice that was fighting against the warnings. It looked towards what Shiro had already done. He’d come all the way to the record store where he worked and asked him to the party. Keith thought that was less likely from someone who only wanted to get into his pants. And the way he’d been so flustered on the first day of their shared class together wasn’t something that could be easily faked. Not unless he’d had lots of practice. And what frat guy thought it would be endearing to be a mess over the chance to be a charming and suave man ready to play the part of the prince come to sweep a girl off her feet? 

Both voices fell into the background compared to the way Shiro was against him. He should’ve felt trapped with his back against the wall, but he felt safe with the way he was almost cradled in Shiro’s arms, his fingers rubbing soothing patterns into his lower back.

Shiro’s cheeks were flushed from the alcohol and Keith knew he probably looked the same way if not worse after the countless times he’d bitten his lip to stifle a laugh or a smile that threatened to overwhelm him. 

Keith wove his fingers into the strands of Shiro’s undercut, upsetting the cap balanced on his head. He pulled on Shiro’s head, yearning to close the gap between them and Shiro obliged, ducking his head so their lips could brush together. 

The first kiss was almost chaste, lips pressed together as they found tentative ground. The second kiss gave them more, their lips parting ever so slightly to deepen the kiss. 

“Is this okay?” Shiro asked, pulling back as they fought to breathe.

The music and the soft murmurs had disappeared into the background and Shiro’s kisses were more dizzying than the alcohol pumping through Keith’s veins. He nodded and smiled, eyes dropping down to the spit-slicked, plump bottom lip that Keith wanted to bite and suck on. 

He pulled Shiro back in again and they spent several more minutes wrapped up in each other. 

“Because,” Shiro gasped as they parted to suck in breaths again, “I want more. I don’t want this to just be a onetime thing. I want to go on a date with you. I want us to be together. Do things together.” 

Keith stared at him, everything in his mind screeching to a halt. 

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, pulling Shiro in again so the hot puffs of his words washed over Shiro’s lips. “We keep kissing right now and tomorrow when you’re no longer drunk, you ask me again and then I’ll give you my answer.” 

Keith closed the distance between them and Shiro pulled him closer, fighting to deepen their kiss even further. 

Keith wasn’t sure what his answer to Shiro’s question was going to be yet and he was putting it off as much for himself as for Shiro. He wasn’t going to jump into this even though so much of his mind and body was screaming at him to give in. 

Waiting was the only way Keith would know for certain which voice in his head was going to win out. If Shiro remembered what he was going to ask and still came to him, he would know. He had to know.


	12. Chapter 12

Keith groaned when he blinked his eyes open to the bright light streaming through his blinds. He turned and buried his head in his pillow, hoping to block all of that out so he wouldn’t have to get up and start the day. He was really regretting everything he’d drunk the night before with Shiro. 

He pressed his face further into his pillow at the memory of that. Of laughing and pressing into secluded corners, lips brushing up against each other. Of Shiro’s words and his desire for them to date. 

As embarrassing as it was, Keith was really hoping that the words hadn’t been because he was drunk and he really did want to go out on date, because maybe…he would actually say yes. He didn’t know what they would do, but it didn’t really matter if they got to spend more time together. 

He sighed and pushed himself up in bed. He scrubbed a hand over his face, groaning at the pounding in his head. Having a hangover was never fun, but he had to work that night which would make things worse. He hoped that it would be a slow night for a Saturday and that Coran would let him do something mindless like organize new merchandise in the back so he wouldn’t have to deal with customers. 

He squinted and looked over at the clock, eyes widening when he saw it was already after noon. 

“Shit,” he grumbled and pushed himself out of bed. He needed to get into some semblance of order and his headache wasn’t going to go away on its own.

He padded out of his bedroom and into the kitchen, getting a pot of coffee started that he was going to spend all afternoon drinking. He’d scrounge around for something to eat later, but first he was going to get a shower and start feeling less gross. Keith ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth and grimaced. A shower and a teeth brushing. Both of those were first. 

The smell of coffee permeated his apartment when he stepped out of the shower. Keith was feeling better now that he was cleaned and the lingering taste of alcohol had been scrubbed from his mouth. 

He poured himself a cup of coffee and pulled out a carton of eggs and several slices of bacon. It was his go-to hangover cure and he could only hope it would get him in shape enough for work. 

* * *

Keith rubbed at his forehead as he carried a new crate full of vinyl to the front of the store. His headache had dimmed since that afternoon, but still managed to be a persistent throb at the back of his head despite the pain pills he’d taken before his shift. 

Coran had been kind enough to give him restocking duties that would keep him more out of the way of customers and he was endlessly grateful for it even if it meant he didn’t get to just hide away in the back room. 

But work and his headache hadn’t been enough to keep Shiro off his mind and he constantly found himself returning to the words he’d said to him. For some reason that wasn’t speaking to the logical part of his brain, he was almost disappointed that he hadn’t heard from him yet. Which made sense since it was a Saturday and Shiro didn’t have anything close to a way to contact him. 

Keith sighed and ducked his head as his fingers hovered over the paper sleeves of the records he needed to restock. 

“Hangover?” 

Keith’s head shot up and he immediately winced and regretted the movement when his head throbbed painfully. He rubbed at his forehead and got a sympathetic smile from Shiro. 

“Sorry. I guess I should’ve given you some warning,” he apologized. 

“I did what I could to handle it earlier, but I didn’t exactly want to call out of work for it. How’s your head?” Keith asked, fiddling with the record sleeves. 

Shiro shrugged. “Could be worse. I was luckier than some of the other guys who had their heads in the toilets this morning because they got up too fast and everything started spinning.”

Keith sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Yeah, I would not want to have to deal with that. So…is there something you needed?” He fought to tamp down on the hope blooming in his chest at why Shiro had come to the record store. 

“Yes, actually,” Shiro said. “I woke up this morning and once I was able to get my thoughts in order over last night, which was great by the way…” 

Keith blushed and shifted. 

“I remember you told me to come ask you something again today if I still felt the same way and when I woke up, I realized that I absolutely had no way to contact you, and for some other reason, I thought that if I waited longer than a day, I would totally lose my chance and never be able to ask you again. So, the only other place I knew I might be able to find you would be here. So, Keith…” Shiro said with a smile. “Will you do the honor of going out on a date with me?” 

Keith blinked at Shiro for a moment before he felt his face heat up and ducked his head to try and hide it. 

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’d really like that, Shiro.” 

Rather than whoop or holler or something else Keith would’ve expected from someone in a frat, Shiro let out a sigh that sounded like a mixture of happy and relieved. 

“Great. Now, one other question.” 

Keith furrowed his brow and looked up at Shiro. 

“To avoid any further panics on my part and running around to try and figure out where I can find you, can I get your phone number?” he asked with a grin. 

Keith chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. “Sure. I think that’ll save both of us a lot of trouble.”

Shiro pulled out his phone and handed it over to Keith who punched in his phone number before handing it back, their fingers brushing around the plastic case. 

“I should probably let you get back to work,” Shiro said, taking a step back, fingers tapping away at the screen before pocketing it. 

“Probably,” Keith agreed, feeling his own phone vibrate in his back pocket. 

Shiro watched him for a moment before finally turning on his heel and walking out of the store. Keith watched him go, trying to fight down the smile that pulled at his lips. His hangover didn’t seem so bad anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

Shiro felt giddy on his walk back to campus. Even though the bright sunshine was setting off an awful pounding in his head, he couldn’t find it in himself to care when he was going to go on a date with Keith. Not when he had Keith’s phone number now. 

He smiled at everyone he passed, making some of the girls blush and giggle with their friends and the boys offer polite nods. 

He hurried up the stairs to his room and shoved through the door before dropping down onto his bed with a happy sigh. His arms splayed out at his sides and he stared up at the ceiling. 

“What the hell’s going on with you?” Lance asked from where he was still trying to bury himself underneath a layer of blankets. “First you run out of here like some sort of hangover demon is chasing you and then you come back looking all happy?” 

“Yeah, we thought we were going to find you with your head in the toilet, but when we went to check we couldn’t find you anywhere,” Matt added. 

“Oh, I just had something I had to do,” Shiro said, trying and failing to smother his grin. 

“That sounds suspicious,” Lance said, finally raising his head. “Did that sound suspicious to you, Matt?” 

“That definitely sounded suspicious,” Matt agreed, sitting up in bed. “Okay, Shiro, spill. Where did you actually go?” 

Shiro chuckled and sat up. He looked at both of his friends. Lance was staring at him with narrowed eyes while Matt just raised an eyebrow. 

“I…” 

“Youuuuu….” Matt and Lance prodded together. 

“I went down to the record store,” he added. 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Lance huffed. 

Shiro ran a hand through his hair embarrassed before the words could even get out of his mouth. “I went to the record store and asked Keith out.” 

There was a beat of silence before a flurry of motion and two bodies flung themselves onto his bed, shoving him to the side. Shiro moved backward to make room for his friends. 

“What the hell man, why didn’t you tell us?” Lance asked. 

“I just did,” Shiro pointed out. 

Lance rolled his eyes. 

“So what did he say?” Matt asked, getting back to the issue at hand. 

“He said yes,” Shiro said. “And I got his number.” 

Lance cheered, pumping a fist in the air, much to the annoyance of the people in the room next to theirs who pounded their hand on the wall. 

“So where are you going to take him?” Matt asked. 

“I haven’t thought that far ahead,” Shiro said. “We’re both hungover from last night so I thought I could save the heavy duty thinking for later.” 

“You know what this means?” Lance asked, eyes shining. 

Shiro and Matt groaned. 

“We should celebrate!” 

“With this hangover, there’s no celebrating I want to be doing today that doesn’t involve my head sleeping on a pillow,” Matt said, hiking a thumb over his shoulder. 

Lance pouted. “I wasn’t about to suggest drinks. Unless you count coffee.” 

“Am I thinking what you’re thinking?” Shiro asked. 

“Hungover Pancake Celebration at IHOP?” Lance asked. 

“Not how I would’ve named it, but yeah, basically,” Shiro said with a shrug. 

“Who the hell cares what we name it?” Matt said, flying from Shiro’s bed to his side of the room. “Let’s just go get the fucking pancakes.”


	14. Chapter 14

The culmination of first talking to Shiro while he was at work, going to the party at his frat, being asked out while he was at work, and then texting Shiro practically nonstop left Keith in a weird space where he forgot the two of them actually had class together. But when Monday came around and he was thrust back into the world of schoolwork and lectures, reminded of just how close their lives actually were. 

Keith had already claimed his table in the back of the room by the time Shiro and Lance walked in. He had his computer set up in front of him and was scrolling through the new music from one of his favorite bands.

“Hey,” Shiro said, taking the seat next to him at the next table over. 

He startled, not expecting the greeting. He looked over at Shiro and blinked. “Oh,” he said, “hey.” 

“Did you already forget we’re in the same class?” Shiro asked with a grin. 

Keith shrugged. “Yeah, actually. It’s not like we’re that far into the semester and most of the time we’ve hung out together has been outside of lecture.” 

“That’s right…” Lance said, leaning an arm on Shiro’s shoulder to peer around him at Keith. “So have the two of you been on the big date yet?” he asked, wagging his eyebrows. 

“Lance,” Shiro hissed in warning. The two of them had been around each other practically the remainder of the weekend after the pancake celebration and he knew full well he would’ve known if he’d gone on their date yet. 

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Like it’s any of your business?” 

Shiro snickered as Lance pulled away and crossed his arms, sliding down in his seat as he grumbled under his breath. 

“What are you looking at?” Shiro asked, nodding towards Keith’s computer. “I know that can’t possibly be the reading we had to do for class today.” 

Keith turned his computer to show Shiro who leaned closer, bracing his hand on the back of Keith’s chair to keep from falling off. Keith swallowed at their proximity and the smell of Shiro’s shampoo he was somehow able to pick up. Or maybe he was weirdly hyper-aware of him that it didn’t matter him without shoving his nose into Shiro’s hair. 

“Just some music,” he said after what felt like too long. “This band I like just released a new CD and I’m looking to maybe buy it, but they’ve got three different versions and I’m not sure if I just want the deluxe CD or if I want to go for the vinyl.” 

“Do you have a lot of vinyl?” Shiro asked, eyes still locked on the screen. 

Keith raised an eyebrow and looked at Shiro until he turned to meet his eyes. “I work at a record store. What do you think?” 

Shiro huffed a breath. “I guess you’ve got a point. You’ll have to show me your music collection sometime.” 

Keith made a show of looking Shiro up and down. “I’m not sure if it’s going to live up to your tastes.” 

He shrugged. “I don’t think whether it does or not is the point. I think it’s getting to know more about you and what you like.” 

Keith swallowed and felt his face heat up. He was so used to having his interests brushed off for not being ideal or typical. People didn’t put much stock into what he did outside of the scenes he was part of. 

“Alright, alright,” their professor said, pushing the door open and walking to the podium at the front of the room. 

Shiro jerked backwards in his chair, putting space between them. Keith ducked his head and bit his lip. He glanced at Shiro out of the corner of his eye and saw him scratching the back of his neck, cheeks pink as Lance snickered next to him. 

Keith thought Shiro’s embarrassment was kind of cute. He closed the web page and pulled up a document to take notes on the lecture. As their professor talked, he found himself looping back to what Shiro had said earlier about wanting to know more about him. 

He was intrigued to find out what was lying underneath Shiro’s frat persona. He’d already been wrong once, thinking there wasn’t anything to him, but he’d already caught a glimpse of someone who was dedicated and maybe a bit of a romantic, which…might not be that at odds with his own personality.


	15. Chapter 15

“Does this look okay? You don’t think Keith is going to have a problem with it, do you?” 

Lance groaned from where he was splayed across his bed. “It’s fine, Shiro. Why are you this worried about your date?” 

Shiro sagged and looked over his shoulder to glare at Lance. “Is it too much for me to want this to go well?” 

“It’s going to be fine, Shiro,” Matt said. He was hunched over his computer working on some coding assignment for class. Or maybe it was something for his personal records. Shiro didn’t even know what the difference was anymore. 

Matt sat back in his chair and looked over at him, gaze peeking over the rims of his glasses. “You both like each other, Shiro. It’s going to go fine. Where are you taking him anyway?” 

“The movies. We weren’t really sure what other neutral ground we could find between us,” Shiro muttered, looking back in the mirror to scrutinize his hat again. 

“The movies? What are you seeing?” Matt asked before resuming his typing. 

“I can’t believe you’re going to the movies,” Lance said. “Couldn’t you have come up with something a little more romantic?” 

“We’re going to see some horror movie Keith picked out,” Shiro answered. “And what would you do, Lance?” 

“Plan a romantic date. You’ve got to woo him. Maybe go for a moonlit picnic. A small local music scene,” Lance rambled off. “Bring flowers or chocolates. A rare record for him.” 

“Yeah, I don’t think Keith is really into any of that stuff…” 

“There has to be something under that unapproachable shell of his,” Lance continued, rolling over onto his back to stare at the ceiling. 

“Or that’s just part of his personality,” Shiro said. “I really don’t think there’s anything wrong with him.” 

“Are you at least going out for dinner, too?” Matt asked. 

“We’ll probably grab a bite after, but we thought we’d grab some popcorn during the movie, too,” Shiro said. “God this looks so dumb,” he said, pulling the cap from his head and tossing it onto his dresser.” 

He ruffled his hair and straightened his shirt.

“That’s as good as it’s going to get.” 

“Good luck,” Matt mumbled, squinting at his computer. 

“Later, guys,” he said, grabbing his phone and wallet before heading for the stairs. 

His shoes thumped on the wooden stairs as he hurried to the ground floor and pushed through the front door. Bright sunlight met his eyes as he hit the sidewalk and turned towards the street that would take him to the theater where he was going to meet Keith.


	16. Chapter 16

Shiro fidgeted where he was standing outside the theater. He looked back and forth down the sidewalk, hoping to catch sight of Keith when he first turned the corner onto the right street. 

“Looking for someone?” 

Shiro jumped and whirled around to find Keith standing behind him. He had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his black skinny jeans and was smirking up at him. 

“You made it!” he blurted. 

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Of course I did. Were you worried I wasn’t going to show?” 

Shiro chuckled and felt himself flush. “No just didn’t want to miss the beginning of the movie.” 

“Come on,” Keith said, stepping around him towards the doors. “We should get our tickets.” 

Shiro hurried after him through the doors of the theater. There weren’t many people in line and they got to the counter quickly. 

Keith slammed down a twenty dollar bill on the counter. “Two tickets for the showing at seven,” he demanded. 

The worker’s eyes widened at Keith’s presence and he nodded hastily, ringing up the price. The register opened with a ding and he slid the bill inside before pushing it shut. The tickets printed out next to him and handed them to Keith. He passed Shiro his ticket and stepped around the counter towards the refreshments. 

“What do you want to eat?” Shiro asked, stepping up next to him. 

“Popcorn’s fine with me.” 

“Anything to drink? Candy?” 

“Surprise me,” Keith said. He stepped back and Shiro turned to look at him. “Come find me in the theater when you’re done.” 

He turned on his heel and walked over to the ticket taker. 

“Next.” 

Shiro was pulled form his thoughts and stepped up to the counter. He ordered popcorn and a package of Reese’s for each of them, along with two cokes. He cradled the popcorn in his elbow and set the candy on top while clutching the drinks in both hands, his ticket sticking to the condensation on one of the cups. 

He hurried over to the ticket taker and passed off his ticket before he headed down to his theater. He was glad the door was propped open and he didn’t have to try and pull it open with his hands full of food. 

Shiro looked over the rows of seats when he made it to the front. He didn’t catch sight of Keith at first. His dark clothes blended in with the dim lighting and the seats around him. He was in the center of the last row in the theater and by the time Shiro made it up the steps, he could see the smirk on his face. 

“Not too bad,” Keith said when he walked over to him and took his seat. 

“Didn’t see you at first,” he said, handing off one of the drinks. 

Keith took it and immediately took a long suck through the straw. 

“And candy,” Shiro added, passing off one of the packages to him. He rested his own on the armrest and put the bowl of popcorn between them. He leaned back in his seat and watched as the previews started to roll. 

Shiro cut a glance to the side at Keith who was watching the screen and chewing lazily on a handful of popcorn. He smiled and reached for the bowl, throwing a couple pieces into his mouth. 

The lights dimmed the rest of the way and they were thrust into darkness for a few brief seconds before white light flooded the room from the screen. Shiro let himself be pulled into the fictional world playing out in front of them. 

Fingers brushed against his own in the popcorn bowl and he glanced over at Keith who didn’t seem disturbing by the touch. Shiro hooked his pinkie around Keith’s and gave it a squeeze before he scooped out a handful of popcorn. 

The next time he reached for more, Keith did the same and Shiro let himself smile in the darkness of the theater.


	17. Chapter 17

Shiro tried not to smile too hard at the feeling of Keith’s hand in his. The streetlamps were the only light left now that the sun had gone down, but the streets were nothing but lively for the night. 

He could hardly remember most of the movie after the beginning, more aware of Keith’s presence next to him and the warmth of his body that Shiro was drawn towards despite the gross temperatures at the peak of summer before things started to cool off. 

Neither of them had had much of an appetite after the movie and had stopped at a food truck to grab a pair of corndogs to eat as they walked down the sidewalk, not headed anywhere in particular. 

They came to the edge of the main park in town and a large screen was set up in the middle of the lawn, a black and white film playing as people huddled together on blankets and ate snacks. 

“Maybe we should come here next time,” Shiro blurted. He flushed at his words, but Keith smiled up at him out of the corner of his eye. 

“Maybe we should,” he agreed and gave Shiro’s hand a squeeze. 

“Can I walk you home?” Shiro asked because it seemed like his mouth was willing to stop at nothing to embarrass him as much as possible. 

Keith’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at the question and his lips parted as he fought to find some sort of response. 

“Uh…sure,” he said and tugged him back the direction they’d come. “It’s actually not too far from here,” he added. 

They turned down a side street that was less crowded and the business buildings fell away. The sounds became muffled by the distance and a soft bubble of peace came to surround them as they continued to walk hand in hand. 

“Thanks for taking me out,” Keith said. “It was fun.” 

“Thanks for…coming out with me,” he shot back. 

Keith rolled his eyes and bumped their shoulders. He slowed his steps and Shiro followed his pace. 

“Well, this is me,” he said, stopping in front of a metal gate around a small apartment building. He turned and looked at Shiro who hadn’t let go of his hand yet. 

Shiro looked down at him and Keith pursed his lips together, rocking back on his heels and cutting a glance to the side. 

“Can I…give you a goodnight kiss?” Shiro asked. 

“Should I be honored that I’m asking?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Shiro shrugged. “Dunno. But can I?” 

Keith hummed and tilted his head form side to side like he was thinking. “I think I can allow one kiss,” he said, reaching up to tangle his fingers in Shiro’s hair and pulled his head down, pressing their lips together. 

Shiro pressed closer and wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist. The kiss was better than he remembered from the party and he tried not to smile at the way his stomach flipped at the feeling. 

Keith pulled back for air and grinned at him. “Guess that’s your one kiss, but I have to say it was a hell of one. But,” he said, extricating himself from Shiro’s arms, much to his disappointment, “I should get inside.” 

Shiro watched as Keith stepped backwards and pulled a set of keys from his pocket. He gave him a smile before he turned and unlocked the gate, slipping inside. He looked back over his shoulder when he reached the front door and Shiro gave him a little wave. 

Once Keith had disappeared inside, Shiro turned on his heel and sprinted down the sidewalk. He grinned feeling the warm air whip past his face as he hit the main road again. He wove through the crowds of people and ignored the strange looks they gave him, whooping as he turned back towards campus.


	18. Chapter 18

Lance screeched when Shiro burst through the door to their room. He lurched backwards and fell off his bed where he was flipping through a magazine, his monthly face mask coloring his skin green. 

Matt’s side of the room was empty and Shiro was sure he was off with one of his clubs or groups, or maybe he’d decided to do something with Pidge for the night. 

“Dude, a little warning next time!” Lance said, pushing himself up off the floor so he could glare over the bed. 

“Sorry,” Shiro said, unable to contain his grin. 

“What the hell’s got you in such a good mood?” he asked, pulling himself back on his bed. 

Shiro pursed his lips, but the smile wouldn’t leave his face. 

“Wait a minute…did you get somewhere with Keith?” Lance asked. “Don’t be stingy on the details, what happened? Did you cop a feel in the back of the theater? Do something in an alley? What happened?”  

“No nothing like that,” Shiro said, falling onto his bed so he could stare up at the ceiling. “I got a goodnight kiss, that’s all.” 

“You disappoint me, Shiro,” Lance sighed and then smiled. “I’m happy for you man. You really seem to care about him.”

“I like him,” Shiro said. “He’s a great guy and I don’t want to screw this up.” 

“Do you think you’re going to be able to see him again?” Lance asked. 

“I hope so. I think it went really well…” he trailed off as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it free and looked at the screen, biting his lip as he threatened to grin so hard his cheeks hurt. 

“What’s that look for?” Lance asked. 

Shiro held out his phone so he could see the message on the screen. 

_Keith: Thanks for taking me out. I had a great time tonight._

“Dude!” Lance said. “Reply! You can’t leave him hanging.” 

“Okay, okay,” Shiro said, sitting up so he wouldn’t accidentally drop his phone on his face. He tapped out a quick message, only hesitating slightly before he hit send. 

_Shiro: Me too. It was amazing. And we should do it again sometime if you’re up for it._

“What did he say?” Lance asked. 

“He hasn’t responded yet,” Shiro sighed. 

He bit his lip when his phone vibrated again and he quickly typed in his passcode. 

_Keith: I’d like that._

“Well?” Lance asked, more than a little impatient. 

“He said he’d like to go out again sometime.” 

“Score!” Lance cheered, pumping his fist over his head. 

Pounding feet sounded outside their door before it was shoved open and one of their frat brothers poked his head inside. 

“Who scored?” he asked. 

“Shiro’s going to,” Lance said. 

“Damn, with who?” he asked, obviously impressed. 

“Kogane, if you can believe it.” 

“Lance,” Shiro warned. 

“You mean that goth kid you invited to the kegger?” their brother asked. He nodded after a moment. “Yeah he didn’t seem so bad. Nice, dude.”

“Nothing’s happened yet…” Shiro said, trying to deflect the conversation. 

“Yeah, but it’s going to,” Lance said. 

“Nice one, man,” their brother said and nodded before he turned and darted off down the hallway. 

Just before the door shut, Shiro could hear him call out, “Guys, guess who’s going to get some action?!” 

Shiro winced, hoping the rumors that would start to fly wouldn’t be so bad. Or at least, he hoped they wouldn’t get back to Keith. 

“Lance,” Shiro sighed. “You better pray that things don’t get out of hand.”

“Don’t worry, man. It’ll be fine, trust me.” 

Shiro rolled his eyes. 

The door was pushed open again and Shiro winced, thinking it was going to be someone else coming to question him, but it was Matt who walked in instead. 

“What’s everyone so excited about?” he asked, dropping his backpack next to his desk. 

“Shiro just got back from his date and he’s totally going to get some with Keith.”

“Lance,” Shiro warned again. He turned to Matt. “We’re just going to see each other again, that’s all.” 

“And you kissed,” Lance added. 

“And we kissed,” Shiro amended. 

“Nice,” Matt said. “Congrats man.” 

“Thanks.” 

“Lance, you should probably go run damage control,” Matt said, sitting down in his desk chair. 

Lance sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed, shuffling from the room even as Matt grinned across the room at Shiro.


	19. Chapter 19

Keith stifled a yawn as he pushed open the door to his morning class. He shuffled to the back of the classroom and took his seat at the table he’d claimed on the first day of classes. He didn’t notice the whispers at first, but they soon caught his attention. 

“That’s gotta be him.” 

“Kogane, right?” 

“Yeah, he’s the one Shiro was with at the party.” 

“And Chris said he heard they did something together?” 

“Yeah.”

Keith straightened in his chair and narrowed his eyes, looking sharply around the room. Several people were huddled together, shooting glances back in his direction. They jolted when they noticed he was watching them. 

The door was pulled open again and Shiro and Lance walked in. Shiro was scratching the back of his neck, saying something to Lance over his shoulder and hadn’t taken notice of Keith yet. 

The whispers increased and Shiro finally looked up, coming to a stop before his eyes landed on Keith and a smile pulled at his lips. Keith raised an eyebrow as he strode around to the back of the room to his seat, Lance following along after him. 

“Hey,” Shiro said, sitting down in the seat at the table next to Keith. 

“Hey,” he said. “What’s all that about?” he asked, nodding towards the groups huddled together. 

“What do you mean? Have they said anything?” Shiro asked. 

“Something about us doing something together,” Keith said, crossing his arms. 

Shiro groaned and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Lance,” he said, turning towards his friend. 

Lance held up his hands and looked a little apologetic. “Sorry, I tried to stop it.”

“Care to share what happened?” Keith asked, finding his patience running out at still being left in the dark. 

“Someone in our frat got the wrong idea about our date,” Shiro said, leaning in towards Keith who crossed his arms. “All Lance’s fault by the way. And he started spreading rumors and Lance was supposed to stop it, but looks like it got out further.” 

“Hm,” Keith said shortly, leaning back in his chair. 

“It’s nothing inconsequential,” Shiro tried, but Keith didn’t look at him, staring down at his desk instead. 

“Good morning!” their professor crowed happily as she walking through the door. “Let’s get started shall we?” She crossed over to the table in the middle of the room and set her things down. 

Keith pulled out his notebook and braced it against the edge of the table so he could write. He could see Shiro shooting glances in his direction out of the corner of his eye, but he was going to ignore them for the moment while he figured out just how he felt about the talk that was happening about them. 

He knew that Shiro wasn’t going to keep everything to himself. He had friends and they would be curious and it was only natural to talk about first dates and attraction and things like that. 

He normally didn’t care what people thought about him either. He dressed the way he wanted to and he didn’t have the patience to try and please everyone. If they didn’t like his personality and the way he acted, then they didn’t need to be someone in his life. 

What he was starting to think he did have a problem with, were the rumors that were going around about him. It wasn’t that he was being talked about, it was that people were talking about something they had no business talking about. They hadn’t been there. They didn’t know what happened and they hadn’t listened when Lance tried to kill the rumors that it wasn’t like that. They’d gone on a date, that had been all. 

Keith didn’t blame Shiro. Or at least he didn’t think he did. But he didn’t like the situation and if it made people think they could try and pull shit, then the first person who did that was going to have a surprise in store for them. 

A piece of paper moved into his periphery and he instinctively glanced toward it. It was a small square and Keith could see a little bit of writing on it. He sighed and pulled it towards him, placing it on top of his notebook and the notes he was taking over the lecture. 

_Are you mad?_

Keith raised and eyebrow and glanced to the side. Shiro’s eyes kept shifting in his direction, bottom lip pulled between his teeth. He scribbled out a message and slid it back over. 

_A little bit._

Shiro glanced up at their professor and wrote out a quick message, waiting a couple of seconds before he slid it back over when he was sure she wasn’t looking. 

_Can we talk after class?  
_

Keith wrote one word and gave the slip of paper back. It was almost filled with words now. _  
_

_Fine._


	20. Chapter 20

Keith pushed his chair back when their lecture ended. He breezed past Shiro and out into the hallway, crossing to the opposite wall. He crossed his arms and leaned his shoulder against the wall, watching as the other students filed from the classroom. 

Lance patted Shiro on the shoulder as they came out of the classroom. He continued down the hallway and Shiro made a beeline for Keith across the hall. He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. 

“Hey,” he said. 

“Hey,” Keith said. 

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Shiro asked. 

Keith pushed off the wall and started walking through the hall. Shiro fell into step next to him, hands still shoved deep in his pockets. 

“So, about earlier…” Shiro started. 

Keith sighed. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little pissed about this whole thing.” 

“Look,” Shiro said, swinging in front of Keith to stop his progress through the hall. “I’m really sorry about this.” 

Keith raised an eyebrow. 

“I should’ve stopped the gossip that was being spread around the frat house.” 

“It’s not…your fault,” Keith said and ran a hand through his hair. “You didn’t start it and you can’t help what other people are going to say, so I don’t blame you. And…it’s just…I usually don’t care if people talk about me. I stopped caring a long time ago because they were going to talk about me whether I liked it or not. I knew I’d never be able to control what they thought anyway.” 

“But?” Shiro asked. 

“But…I do have a problem when they’re talking about things they don’t need to be talking about. It’s none of their business what we do on our dates or what we do together.” 

“You’re right,” Shiro said. “They don’t have any business gossiping about us and it sucks, but we can’t control everything they’re going to say. Even though I really wish I could because…I don’t want you to feel bad about this.” 

Keith sighed. 

“We could pin this all on Lance and make him beg for forgiveness?” Shiro suggested, his tone lifting slightly. 

The edge of Keith’s lips quirked up and he glanced up at Shiro through his eyelashes, feeling his mood start do lift. 

“Does that sound like a plan?” Shiro asked, slow grin pulling at the edge of his mouth. 

Keith huffed a laugh, his stomach curling happily at the thought of this possibly being a second date for them. 

“Or he could order takeout for us and we could have a picnic? With a couple of beers of course.” 

“You’re such a dork,” Keith said. “A picnic? Really? You’re in a frat! Aren’t you supposed to be all…I don’t know…not so dorky? Or cheesy?” 

“Well, right now I just know that I want to spend some time with this guy I really like.” He pulled one of his hands out of his pocket and held it out to Keith. “So I think I can make an exception for how cheesy I am. And things can get even cheesier if we have pizza.” 

Keith rolled his eyes and took Shiro’s hand, linking their fingers together. “Cheese pizza and beer doesn’t sound so bad.” 

“Come on,” Shiro said, tugging him down the hallway towards the door. “We can bug him later and guilt him into offering us some food. You feel like getting some coffee?” 

“Are you buying?” Keith asked. 

Shiro hummed and grinned. “If you give me a kiss.” 

“I think that can be arranged,” Keith said, smirking. 

They pushed through the double doors that led out to the sidewalk and turned towards the campus coffee shop. Keith caught sight of a few curious gazes that were thrown their way, but he found himself caring less than he had that morning. Especially when Shiro’s thumb brushed against the back of his hand.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are loved and appreciated!
> 
> You can find me on [Tumblr](my-one-love-is-music.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](twitter.com/m_o_l_i_m)


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